Pages

Sunday, July 22, 2018

CI Latin Teacher Database

With so many Latin teachers having attended NTPRS and IFLT these past few summers, not to mention the number of blogs, of Facebook groups, and of conference presentations dedicated to the teaching of Comprehensible Input in the Latin classroom, I have decided to create a CI Latin Teacher Database much like the CI Teacher Database which Martina Bex has created. This will now allow us to see what CI Latin teachers are out there, in what area they are, etc. Now that we have gained a critical mass of CI teachers in the Latin teacher community, I think that it is more important than ever that we CI Latin teachers support each other. To be part of this database, you do not have to be using CI exclusively. Perhaps you are a CI dabbler. Maybe you are a CI seeker. I want you to know that you are still part of the CI Latin teacher community.This document hopefully will lead to the creation of some Professional Learning Networks (PLN) based on local area and to being able to observe other CI Latin teachers in the classroom, but most importantly, to community and the knowledge that you are NOT alone in being a CI Latin teacher. If you are willing to have others come observe you in the classroom, please indicate that. A few of the questions deal with the phrase "formally trained." Some of you may be asking why that phrase is there. To quote Martina Bex:

Why ‘formally trained’? I don’t specify it to be a snooty-pants, I promise! It is my attempt to guarantee that what you see in the lesson is true, modern, TPRS®. I had a very wrong idea of what TPRS® was before I began learning about it from Michele Whaley. My idea was based on antiquated information from a methods course and my own imagination. Many teachers have observed their colleagues using TPRS® or read about it in a book or on a blog, but they have never been to a workshop in which they are coached in the essential skills of TPRS®. You would never allow a doctor that had not been to medical school to teach you how to do heart surgery, would you? Likewise, when you are learning how to teach a TPRS® lesson, you need to learn from someone that has been to TPRS® school. Now, of course there is still much margin for error, but finding a formally trained TPRS® teacher is at least some kind of a protection plan.

This is something to keep in mind. It is important that if you are willing to have others come observe you implementing CI in your classroom or you are wanting to coach someone in how to use CI, you truly need to understand what CI is and what it is not through some kind of formal training. As Martina Bex writes above about her own experience, there are many out there who have their own idea of CI and think that they understand what it is, but in reality, they are FAR from what CI actually is. My understanding of CI greatly improved (and still does) through attending conferences like NTPRS and IFLT.

How to use this database: As the database grows, search to see what other CI Latin teachers are possibly in your area. Perhaps you are wanting to observe another CI Latin teacher in the classroom. Perhaps you would like to collaborate with another CI Latin teacher who is using the same textbook or has gone un-textbook. In each of these situations, email those particular teachers.